Epiphany 5

Epiphany 5 (Matthew 5:13-20)

 

“Except your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, You will by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

 

The Kingdom of Heaven is the abundance of God manifesting in the people of God.

 

The religious leaders, the Scribes and the Pharisees, missed this point. They had come to believe righteousness was right belief plus right action that produced a very specific result. The result was Divine approval for the righteous and Divine wrath for the unrighteous.

 

They majored in the minor aspects of the Law and the Commentaries on the Law. They missed the meaning and the purpose of the Law.

 

They focused on rigid inflexible uncompromising systems and programs. But, because they missed the most important aspect of the Law, they practiced a brittle, suffocating, exclusive form of religion. They obsessed over rules and regulations and then subverted their own systems by creating loopholes to avoid the crushing burden of that system.

 

They missed the joy. They missed the peace. And, above all they missed the love.

 

When Jesus speaks of salt losing its saltiness he is speaking of adulterated and counterfeit religion.

 

Salt was a valuable commodity in the ancient world. It was vital to the preservation of food. It was even used as money. Since it was so valuable, people sometimes mixed it with grains of sand. They diluted it to cheat the markets. It became less valuable as more people diluted it.

 

The Scribes and the Pharisees and the other religious leaders of the day did the same thing with the Law. They diluted it from its original purity of holiness. They adulterated it with their own opinions and demands.

 

Moses and the prophets taught that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a marriage feast. It is a celebration to which all people are invited to share in the abundance of joy and delight that the King, God, offers at the feast. It is personal, enthusiastic and open. It unfolds in the community of the called- and all are called.

 

The Scribes and Pharisees formed an individualistic religion tailored specifically to reflect their social status, interests and abilities. Instead of a Feast to celebrate they formed a religious court to judge. Instead of an open invitation  they created small exclusive homogenous religious institutions. Instead of spiritual abundance they brought minimalist religious cliques.

 

Jesus expects our righteous to exceed the righteousness of law based exclusivity. He invites us to enter into the personal relationship God the Father designed us to enjoy. The only way our righteousness can exceed the law based individualistic righteousness is the Way of Sanctification.

 

The Way of Sanctification means we refuse to cheat God in worship. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to stir up in our souls a hunger and thirst for the abundance of the Marriage Feast.

 

From time to time I attend seminars on Church growth. So far, they all have focused on the externals of programs and current cultural norms. The Kingdom of Heaven does not manifest because of programs and individualistic cultural norms. The Kingdom of Heaven manifests as the people of God make a conscious choice to place God first in our lives.

 

Jesus calls us into a process of sanctification by the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls us to be pure spiritual salt unadulterated by individual self-will and pride. Jesus calls us to reflect uncreated spiritual light that makes all things, including our own lives, new.

 

The only way our righteousness can exceed the religious righteousness of law based culturally defined religion is as we surrender self- will to Divine will in the transforming power of universal, sacrificial, unconditional love.

 

The Reality of the Kingdom of Heaven is the inward and spiritual grace of our relationship with Jesus Christ. The reality is the relationship. The relationship is the celebration of the Beloved’s delight in us and in our delight in Him.

 

Do not settle for the outward and visible forms of religion. Ask the Holy Spirit to immerse you in the celebration of infinite and eternal abundance in a forever friendship with Jesus Christ.